Beauty of the Chesapeake Bay Captivates Seventh Grade

The Indian Creek Class of 2024 students got to [literally] immerse themselves in their Chesapeake Bay studies, as they took part in their highly-anticipated Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) trip! On April 10-12, the seventh grade class travelled to Chrisfield, Maryland, where they boarded boats headed for three separate CBF centers on Smith Island, Port Isobel East, Port Isobel West.

When they arrived at their destinations, students turned over their cell phones, watches, and all other connections to the real world, and enjoyed ICS rites of passage, including marsh mucking, crabbing, exploring the island towns, telling scary stories at night, playing in mud, hanging out together on the dock, watching the sun rise, and just being outdoors!

Besides learning about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay, students on Smith Island also learned about the local culture of the island (and particularly Tylerton, the community in which they were staying.) Students interviewed local residents, talked with their boat captain (who has been working on the water for forty years), heard local myths and stories, and even got to meet a local student their age!

The students also enjoyed a project in which each group designed a community along the same river, and the students saw how each community fit together and how their actions and choices affected the other local communities downstream.

A memorable morning was spent going out on a crab boat with local watermen to drop crab pots, scrape the bottom of the bay, and go progging. One group found two beautiful diamondback terrapins, and after they pulled up their crab pots, our boat was followed by a flock of brown pelicans!

The Port Isobel crew enjoyed a competitive kickball game (East vs. West). They also studied the parts of a fish, and used their newfound skills to look for deepest parts of bay.

Hiking in the marsh, exploring deserted islands, and looking for artifacts were also favorite highlights for the students. As one seventh grader shared, “CBF was the best field trip ever! It was such a fun and unique experience – unlike anything I’ve ever done before. And it made me appreciate living so close to the Chesapeake Bay. Everything was so beautiful. I also got closer to so many of my friends on this trip. I’m really glad that we got to experience this together.”

A full, downloadable gallery of CBF photos can be found by logging into the ICS website and navigating to News > Featured Content > Media > CBF2019 or at this link.
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Indian Creek school is a co-educational, college preparatory independent school, located in Crownsville, Maryland.  Students in Pre-K3 through grade 12 receive a vibrant educational experience based on excellent academics steeped in strong student-teacher connections.